Silverberg: More ways to interact, but more difficulty doing so

Friday

Feb 21, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By KATHY SILVERBERG

A wise friend recently observed that aging has gotten a lot more complicated in recent years. Not only are older adults required to make all sorts of choices about medical care, living arrangements and financial matters, but they -- I should say "we" -- are expected to do so by negotiating a range of technological tools including computers, smart phones and complicated voice mail systems with which they may not be familiar or comfortable.

Sometimes, the result can be delayed decisions that erode quality of life or even threaten health or financial stability.

For those who grew up in the age of technology or who worked in an environment where keeping up with constantly changing computer systems was required, the new modes of communication are not nearly so jarring. But for a large group of people now in their later years the pressure to manage in a wirelessly linked world can be overwhelming.

I'm old enough to remember when the touch-tone phone system was introduced to our small town. Now instead of dialing just five numbers to reach local homes and businesses, users would be required to dial the prefix -- another outdated term -- which meant seven numbers in all. As I was busy complaining about the change, my mother-in-law reminded me that only a few years before, local phone numbers included just four digits.

About the time that touch-tone phones came into wide usage, another advancement was gaining traction. Direct Distance Dialing meant that you could make calls to another town or state using area codes instead of having to engage an operator -- more convenient for sure, but once again requiring more numbers to keep track of.

The complications of modern life extend beyond technology. When medical coverage was relatively routine in the workplace, most plans were pretty standard and employees had few choices to make. Then the financial people realized that if they offered a cafeteria plan where employees could make choices, paying more for higher levels of coverage, the company could save money. Now workers had to weigh their risk of getting sick against the immediate hit to their household budget.

When computer systems became more sophisticated, business leaders realized there could be even greater savings if employees registered their choices online, thus eliminating the clerks and the paperwork needed for manual enrollment. Better still, how about asking workers to do their own research instead of having human resources personnel conduct informational sessions?

It was a similar story when the switch was made from defined benefit pension plans to the 401K system that allowed workers to make investment decisions that would affect their retirement income.

These new strategies gave employees more control over their lives, or at least that was what I was instructed to tell employees who reported to me, and, yes, it was true. It also meant that they would have to become much more knowledgeable about health care issues and financial markets so that they could make wise choices. For some people that was not a problem, in fact, they found it liberating. But for others it was overwhelming, better just to pick an option and go with it, or worse still, opt out and risk financial hardship in the years ahead.

Indeed, the world is getting more complex. Could that be why lots of people simply disengage from the weighty issues of the day and instead turn their attention to the private lives of famous people or the Home and Garden network, that is, if they can figure out how to use the television remote?

It is counterintuitive that as the number of devices available for communication increases the dedication to substantive interaction with other people decreases, but that seems to be the reality. As more and more time is spent moving seamlessly among various electronic devices and software applications, less effort is devoted to personal relationships and finding solutions to real-world problems.

This is not to say that technology is all bad or that empowering people to make choices in accordance with their own personal goals is not the right strategy. Rather, there is a need to balance dependence on technology with reliance on connecting with people and ideas the old-fashioned way, face to face.

Greater understanding could come by expanding the circle of conversation, by reaching out to those who have something of value to contribute but haven't been asked, realizing that not everyone communicates in the same way and that efforts to bring people together should include more than just the Internet.

More than simply a replacement for the old, the new ways should be seen as tools to enhance the human condition.

Kathy Silverberg is former publisher of the Herald-Tribune's southern editions. Email: kathy.silverberg@comcast.net